The thing about teaching is...

...your self-esteem is at the mercy of a bunch of snot-nosed brats. Or eager-to-please angels, depending on the day. It's a roller coaster, and an unpredictable one at that. Sometimes the kids unexpectedly get really engaged in a lesson and sometimes you carefully plan what you think will be a fun, interesting activity only to be greeted with a groaning chorus of "that's dumb!", "boooring!", and "I don't want to do that!" Some classes go off without a hitch and some are a battle that tests every last bit of your patience and makes you understand those crotchety teachers from movies who complain about kids these days being punks and who long for the "good old days" of corporal punishment. Don't call the police/child services on me, I'm not about to start hitting my students, but sometimes they just drive you to your wit's end and make you desperate for a way, any way, to get them to shut up and listen. And then those same students will enthusiastically greet you on the playground and beg you to hang out with them and tell them about the celebrities you've seen in America (for the record, none).

I like teaching, I really do. I find it rewarding, entertaining, and overall the good experiences outweigh the bad. Yes, trying to get devious, "I'm too cool for school" 7th-graders to quit whispering and passing notes behind your back and give a darn about English comparatives and superlatives is quite frustrating. But then there are the 6th-graders who write a hilarious rap about St. Nicholas and perform it with beat boxing to boot, the 8th-graders who show a surprising enthusiasm for country line dance and the 9th-graders who keep themselves focused and entertained for 90 minutes writing and rehearsing, with impromptu props, skits about their upcoming internships.

I'm applying for a second year (cross your fingers, or as the Germans would say, press your thumbs, for me), and I can only hope that my experiences will continue to be as entertaining and informative as they have been thus far.

Happy Valentine's Day!

My life here in Germany, encapsulated in my activities from yesterday:

-had a traditional German breakfast with the roommates
-watched an episode of my new guilty pleasure, True Blood
-baked Valentine's cookies
-made a lesson plan to teach my 6th-graders about Inuit legends
-went on an hour-long bike ride
-began juggling lessons with my roommate
-weekly (and always hilarious) Sunday dinner with the roommates
-finished my application to come back for another amazing year as a teaching assistant

Perfect. I hope everyone has a great day filled with love from friends and family!